An insider's deep dive on how UFC got California to sanction Power Slap: Part One

A witches' brew of case law, big business, national politics, and personal aspirations.

Art by Chris Rini

Why would future US Presidential aspirant and current California governor Gavin Newsom allow his state to temporarily approve Power Slap during an election season?

It’s one of a million questions raised before, during, and after the California State Athletic Commission meeting on December 9th where the state recently approved a temporary license, on a 6-0 vote, for UFC officials to promote a slap fighting event. Should the first Power Slap event go smoothly in California, the conditional license will grant UFC three extra state-sanctioned slapfighting events.

Don’t be fooled — slapfighting is simply a shiny toy. The story behind the story is about everything surrounding the actual activity of slapping someone unconscious.

How we ever got to this point is beyond the comprehension of most people, including the parties involved. Why is UFC promoting slapfighting? Why should the existence of Power Slap matter to a fight fan? How could such disparate political movers and shakers green light such an oncoming train wreck?

The Athletic Commission meeting to vote on Power Slap was on the morning of the Devin Haney boxing match at the Chase Center. At 10 AM, on a Saturday, in a non-descript room with approximately 20 people and no audio or video camera footage for the public to review. For the first time, you will read quotes from parties involved at that meeting. Those quotes will raise as many questions as they will provide answers.

This article is the product of a month-long investigation. Our work product is the result of a combination of: public records requests, witness interviews, documentary evidence, official requests for comments on-the-record, and interviews with individuals who attended the Devin Haney fight at the Chase Center on December 9th.

Power Slap is the manifestation of some ugly public policy fomented by brutal case law, along with pliable state regulators and politicians who see a prospective benefit.